A Forbidden Romance
by beckarawrx
Summary: Draco Malfoy's son returns to Hogwarts in his sixth year of magical education and befriends a shy, but intelligent daughter of Ron Weasley & Hermione Granger. Now the two kids will have to overcome their parents past without ever knowing what really happn
1. Birthday Surprises

"Dad. I don't know what classes to take this year!" cried Rose Weasley while her mother, father, and younger brother Hugo stepped into the Leaky Cauldron.

"Rosie," her father, Ron, began, "you got an O in every O.W.L. exam last year. You can take any classes you want to be whatever you want to be."

"Oh, Rosie. Your dad is right!" Hermione Weasley exclaimed excitedly. "I have to admit, you do have my brains and so much more. We are so completely proud of you. " Hermione finished her coo and began to tap the brick wall behind the Leaky Cauldron in a precise manor to open the gateway to Diagon Alley.

The family of four stepped into the sun and young Rose spoke again. "I guess I'll take the proper classes to be … be a healer, like you mum." Hermione's eyes welled with tears at the words her daughter spoke and took her into a breathtakingly tight hug.

"'MIONE! Let go! You may kill her with affection before she even buys her school supplies! Now Rosie, take Huge to Madam Malkin's and both of you get two new robes each while your mother and I go get both of your school supplies."

"Dad!" Hugo yelled. "It's Rose's birthday, not mine. So why am I getting new robes too?"

"It's NOT her birthday present. You both are in desperate need of new robes. Now, get going and meet us a Florean Fortescue's in an hour. Love you both, now get lost." Ron exclaimed jeeringly.

Madam Malkin only managed to occupy the young Weasley's for a matter of 10 minutes, leaving them practically the whole allotted hour to themselves. Hugo knew and understood his sister's love of books, so he accompanied her to Flourish & Blotts to find some suitable reading material. Although Rose was a brainiac who thrived on knowledge like her mother, in her lessons, she was not an insufferable know-it-all.

"Pick out two books. I'll get them for you as a birthday present," Hugo said as they walked into the bookstore. After what seemed like ages to poor Hugo, Rose finally decided on two large books giving them only five minutes to find their way back to their parents.

Hugo and Rose strolled through Diagon Alley clutching the two heavy, leather-bound books and into Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. The moment Rose walked through the door, she dropped _Twenty Fool-Proof Ways to Know-It-All without Acting As Such. _Along with her parents sat her aunt and uncle, and between the four sat a cage with a rare snowy white owl perched on a bar within it.

"Happy birthday, Rose!" exclaimed an excited Ginny Potter as she jumped up to hug her niece.

"Thank you so much! But, what's this?" Rose spoke as she pointed at the cage and its contents. "She's absolutely beautiful!"

"Well Rosie," Harry Potter spoke, " I've been talking to your mum and dad for quite some time now about getting you your own owl. I received a snowy white owl, just like her, for my eleventh birthday from Hagrid, and I thought that you would enjoy one as much as I enjoyed Hedwig. This one's name is Apolla, and she's all yours."

Rose ran at her uncle full speed and hugged him nearly as tight as her mother did to her earlier that day.

"Oh, Uncle Harry! Thank you so much! She's gorgeous! Mum, dad! Thank you for letting him do this!" Rose yelled excitedly as she ran to hug her parents.

"It was no problem, poppet." Hermione said sweetly. "But if you want some birthday ice cream, you'd better hurry. The Hogwarts Express leaves in an hour!"

The door to the Ice Cream Parlor opened and Rose was warmly greeted by her cousins James, Albus, and Lilly. The nine of them ordered their ice cream, but took it on the go because the Hogwarts Express was to leave at precisely eleven A.M.


	2. Mysterious Stranger

As the Potter - Weasley clan pushed through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 to platform nine and three quarters, a scarlet steam engine was revealed. Hugo, James, Lilly, and Albus kissed their parents goodbye quickly so they could run off to find their friends, leaving Rose to her typical 'goodbye routine' with her parents; the same old routine as it had been for the past six years.

Part of the routine also consisted of Rose to aboard the train to find an empty compartment all to herself, although this time she had Apolla. The only empty compartment was at the back of the very last carriage. She shut the doors behind her, set Apolla on the floor, and took the stationary seat next to the window. She pulled out on of her new birthday books, _Muggle's Through The Ages, _and opened to the first page. After settling on the first page for ten minutes, Rose finally stared out the window. Staring back at her in the glass was her sixteen year old self with sleek brown hair, blotches of freckles on her cheeks, and blazing blue eyes.

Before Rose really got the chance to analyze her resemblance to her parents and her strong distinctions in personality, the compartment door shot open to reveal a boy of about the same age as herself. A tall, bleach blond boy of approximately sixteen looked at her in a way no boy ever had, then spoke to her.

"Excuse me miss. Do you mind if intrude on your company? Every where else is full."

Rose sat there in awe at how deep this perfect boys voice was. He was a new face, someone she'd never seen since she started Hogwarts. "Uhm, yeah, sure," Rose managed to stammer out, hoping not to make a complete imbecile of herself.

The mysterious stranger accepted this with a nod as he bypassed Apolla's cage sitting on the floor and sat opposite of Rose. Before she could say anything else that had more then one syllable, the boy pulled out a book she swore to have seen before; _Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches_. Rose blushed a deep shade of pink then returned to her own book.

After about an hour, the boy finished his book and set it beside him on the bench, then stole a deep, penetrating look at Rose and spoke again in his deep voice.

"Thank you for sharing a compartment with me. I'm a transfer from Durmstrang Academy. You know, according to _Hogwarts; A history_, all students must be sorted into house's; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. And out of curiosity, which house do you belong?"

Rose sat there bewildered. At last she spoke.

"Gryffindor. Just like the rest of my family. It sometimes sorts you into houses by family connections rather then where you would truly excel within in the school."

"Well then, miss, unfortunately if what you say is true, I will probably end up in Slytherin with amongst the rest of my ancestors. I was most hoping to get to know you." At these words, Rose turned about as scarlet as the train engine.

"Out of curiosity on my behalf, why are you transferring from Durmstrang to Hogwarts after six years?" Rose inquired.

"To be honest, I hated it there. I was ecstatic when I received my Hogwarts letter, until my grandfather forced my mum and dad to send me to Durmstrang. All my father wanted was for me to get a good magical education like he did and it didn't matter where I went as long as I got it. So I attended a school I never wished to go to in the first place for my first five years of magical training. Then, about three months ago, my grandfather died in Azkaban, leaving me the decision where I wanted to finish my education, and obviously, I chose Hogwarts. Once I made the decision, my father and I notified the Ministry and they told me that I would have to take my O.W.L.'s in order to attend school there in the fall. Since it would be my sixth year, I'd have to decide what classes I'd want to take to do a profession I love."

"That was very brave of you. I hope you enjoy Hogwarts much more then you did Durmstrang."

"Trust me. I already do." Again, Rose turned a deep shade of pink, and the boy spoke again. "I can see the castle from here. So its only about ten minutes till we arrive at Hogsmeade Station. Since its my first year here, do I have to ride across the lake in the boats, or can I take a carriage?"

"Since it isn't your first year of magical education, I believe you can get away with taking a carriage."

"Great. Would you mind sharing one of those with me as well?" the boy inquired.

"Not at all."

Rose and the boy spend the remainder of the ride in silence while they put on their school robes and put their reading material away. Once off the train, the pair held back to be the last remaining to take the very last carriage up to the castle that the boy was seeing for the first time.


	3. Mystery Revealed

Upon arrival at the castle, Rose and the boy parted ways while the he inquired where he was to go. She saw Hagrid, the half giant, point him in the direction of the first years where he stood almost a full foot taller then most. Regretting her decision to part ways with him, Rose entered the Great Hall.

Gliding down the center aisle between the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables, Rose wore a shy smile and plopped down in-between her two cousins, James and Albus, and awaited a small speech from the headmistress before sorting the first years into houses.

"Welcome back students!" Headmistress McGonagall said cheerfully. "As a reminder to all; the Forbidden Forest is strictly off-limits to all, Now, before we begin another delightful feast, we have students to sort." She finished her short welcome and stepped down to a small stool, picked up the witch's hat that sat upon it, and called off all new first year names from "Abbot, Lionel; Hufflepuff." to "Zonko, Zepfromiah; Ravenclaw." Rose began to worry that the boy had just been placed into Slytherin like his ancestors without being put to the test by the sorting hat. Her worries soon subsided once she noticed his emersion into the Great Hall as the headmistress spoke again.

"Students, old and new, we have another student joining us this year, not to start from the beginning, but enter what would be his sixth year in Hogwarts training. He initially received a letter to join us here at Hogwarts but chose to travel abroad the Durmstrang Academy. Students, teachers, I give you Scorpius Malfoy." There was a quiet and confused applause as Scorpius walked across the platform to sit on the stool where thousands of others had sat before. McGonagall placed the sorting hat on his head and sprang to life.

"Another Malfoy under my brim. The problem is what house to place him. He has the purest of blood to join the Slytherin flame, yet the brain of a Ravenclaw all the same., and the bravery of a Gryffindor game. Young Malfoy, I'm sure you see the problem I face. But to make it right, you young sir, belong in Gryffindor!"

Most Slytherin's looked around flummoxed as the rest of the hall broke into polite applause while Scorpius Malfoy made his way down the Gryffindor table to sit between Rose and her cousin James. To her left, Albus shot Rose a reproachful grin. Under the table itself, Scorpius took Rose's hand into his own and stroked it tenderly with his thumb.

Suddenly, a magnificent feast appeared before their eyes. Lucky for Rose, she was left handed and didn't need to let go of Scorpius during the whole feast. After a little while, James decided to engage him in what seemed like polite conversation that wasn't very polite at all.

"So," James began, "you seem to know my cousin, Rose. It's nice that someone's finally taken pity on her. She doesn't have many friends at all." Before James could produce any more tears in Rose's eyes, Scorpius interjected.

"I'm not taking pity on her. She is fantastic and I have found that we are a lot alike." He turned to Rose and wiped the tears off of her cheeks, took a firmer grasp on her hand, and stared tenderly into her eyes, as if to extract every hint of truth they held.


	4. Confessions

As abruptly as the feast began, it ended. The benches inched backwards and all the students in the Great Hall filed out in the direction of their separate common rooms. Rose and Scorpius made their way up to Gryffindor tower still holding hands, tightening their grip as they inched closer to the Fat Lady at the entrance of Gryffindor Tower. Finally, the pair arrived at the portrait and Rose gave her the password of _Gillyweed._

The picture swung open and Scorpius, being the gentlemen he was, helped her through the hole, into the common room. Once in the common room, he brought Rose's hand to his lips, kissed it and said, "Until tomorrow, Rosie," then swiftly made his way up to the boys dormitory as Rose stood there flabbergasted.

Eventually, she made it up to the girls' dormitory where she laid in bed thinking about all that had happened that day, especially Scorpius. She'd never met anyone like him. He's a boy who reads, is polite, absolutely gorgeous, and wanted to spend time with HER! In all years at Hogwarts, her only friends consisted of her cousins or Twilight Longbottom. Other then that, everyone stayed clear of Rose and she preferred it that way. It gave her more time to study and read. This Scorpius thing will definitely take some getting used to.

Rose tossed and turned all night without managing a wink of sleep. Her thoughts wouldn't rest on Scorpius. Dawn approached as she finally got out of bed and began to dress for her first day of classes. The sun had completely surpassed the horizon before she made her way down to the common room, which to her surprise, was not unoccupied. In the chair nearest the fire sat Scorpius reading another book, already dressed for lessons.

"Morning, Rosie," Scorpius said gleefully.

"G'morning. How long have you been awake?" Rose inquired as she took the seat opposite from him at the fire.

"All night. Too much on my mind to get any sleep. You know?"

"I know. I didn't sleep at all last night either. If you want to, you can tell me what kept you up." Rose said shyly.

"Actually, I was going to tell you anyways. I'm just glad you told me I could before I started spilling my guts out to you." Both laughed at his wit and then he began.

"Well," he began, "I was wracking my brains for a way to tell my dad I was placed in Gryffindor house, not Slytherin. I know he'd be proud either way, and he was sure I would be placed into Ravenclaw with my thirst for knowledge as he calls it. But its still hard to tell him that I'm the first Malfoy in centuries to not be placed in Slytherin. I mainly hated Durmstrang because people were so impressed that I was pure blood on my dads side with muggle-born mother, but they all thought that I was a pure like my dad. My blood line didn't and doesn't matter to me. What mattered was how much I wanted to learn, and I wasn't learning what I wanted there. I never fit in because I preferred to be reading rather then dueling in the halls between classes, and I had NO friends. That all changed when I met you. I didn't know your name or anything about you, nor did I care. I just saw a girl like me, sitting all alone in a compartment reading, and I swear, when you were looking out the window, you were thinking of how unlike your parents you are. I felt as if I had found someone exactly like me. You were someone I could open up to without the fear of rejection or being laughed at. As for last night at the feast, holding your hand felt so right at that precise moment. I know and knew nothing about you, yet I feel like I know everything I need to."

Scorpius just looked at her now as he waited for a reply, but when one didn't come from the confused smile painted on Rose's face, he asked, "Out of curiosity, did I just make a bloody ass out of myself, or am I right about this?"

Normally, a question like that would startle her, but she spoke quickly in response to Scorpius.

"You pegged me 100 right. The only people here I even ASSOCIATE with are my cousins or the daughter of Professor Longbottom. I should have been in Ravenclaw, but the family ties brought me to Gryffindor instead. I have my mothers wit and her way of scaring off people with my intellect. My mom had two best friends in all six years she attended Hogwarts; my dad and my uncle. I can talk to you like I talk to my younger brother, Hugo, but I still prefer reading to social encounters. People avoid me. No one wants to be around someone so smart. The only reason Twilight even bothers with me is because she has the same bad people skills and we grew up together. And suddenly, here you walk into my life and it feels like I've known you longer then Twilight."

Moments after Rose blurted out her true feelings to Scorpius, Hugo emerged from the boys' dormitory announcing that breakfast would start soon as he sat down to put his shoes on. He tied them quickly, probably creating a large knot within it, and set off through the portrait. Scorpius stood from his seat and walked over to Rose holding his hand out to help her up. She took it graciously, then the pair laced their fingers and set off together towards the Great Hall.


	5. The Malfoy Family Album

The first week of classes at Hogwarts went by quickly. To Rose's surprise, Scorpius had the same ambition to become a healer as she did, so the two had all the same classes deeming them inseparable. During lessons, the pair would sit together. Between classes they'd walk holding hands. At night after dinner, they would retire to the common room to read and study by the fire in each others arms until bed.

On the first Saturday back, Scorpius and Rose were found at the base of a beechnut tree near the lake. At a distance, it appeared as if the couple was reading a children's book together when in actuality, they were immersed in a Malfoy family album. After a short while, Rose found herself staring at a picture of a young boy around the age of eleven standing on Platform Nine and Three Quarters with a man much taller then he with a receding head of bleach blond hair, both waving excitedly at the camera.

"Scorpius, is that you on Platform Nine and Three Quarters?" Rose asked very confusedly.

"Uhm, yeah. That was taken about two seconds before my grandmother arrived with a howler from my grandfather. My dad had made it into a platform bathroom before it exploded. Basically it said that if my parents didn't send me to Durmstrang, that he would use some of his powers still outside the Azkaban walls to kill my mum. I had no choice. The one thing about my mom my grandfather never knew is that she was a Muggle born. My dad told him that she was pure, part of a foreign wizarding decent and luckily he believed it."

"Wow. You know, now that you mention it, I remember seeing you that day. Ha, my dad made some crack about being friends with Draco Malfoy's son."

"Do you remember what he said?" Scorpius interjected curiously.

"Something about not getting to friendly with his son and to beat him on every test. My dad's got a sense of humor. He was competitive with him back in school; they all were."

"Well, if he was serious, then he'll seriously be disappointed in you. I mean, we _are _a bit friendly. Right?" At the close of his statement, Scorpius shut the Malfoy family album and looked at Rose like he'd never looked at her before.

"Ya - ya - yeah," Rose managed to stammer out as he leaned in closer to her. Finally, their lips met for the first time and fireworks went off in Rose's head. For her first kiss, this was exactly how she imagined it. It was long, slow, and glowed with hidden passion. When their lips broke apart, Rose gently laid her head across his chest as they waited and watched the late summer sun descend upon the horizon.


	6. The Owlery

The sun finally set an hour later, forcing Rose and Scorpius to make their way back up to the castle. At the Entrance Hall, the pair broke apart with another faint kiss leaving him alone to head back to Gryffindor Tower, and her to go on her own way to the owlery.

Rose walked through the empty corridors of the castle with the words her father once spoke ringing through her ears.

_"So that's little Scorpius. Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Don't get too friendly with him though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pure-blood."_

**So what if he's a pure-blood? **Rose thought to herself. **Dad had to have been kidding. He himself is a pure-blood. I'll write to mum just to make sure that dad was only trying to seem funny.**

Rose made her way up the steps into the owlery, pulling out a quill and a spare bit of parchment as she summoned Apolla to her side, then penned a short letter to her mother.

"_Dear Mum,_

The first week back has been different then the rest. All of the professors have been loading on tons of homework, including Professor Longbottom. Even Hugo has no time to convince people to buy Uncle George's Weasley Wizard Wheezes. I've even managed to make a friend since the start of the term. His name is Scorpius and he's the son of a classmate of yours and dad's. He's really terrific for someone transferring from Durmstrang. We've got so much in common and I really like him.

But mum, I'm worried. Bad said something once about granddad never forgiving me if I married a pure-blood. Was he kidding?

I'm not thinking about marrying him, mum. I just really like him and if he asks me to be his girlfriend, I want to accept. That is, only if you and dad are okay with it. I really like him, I just don't want to do something that will upset the family.

Love always, Rosie.

P.S. Write back soon!"

She finished the letter to her mother, then tied it to Apolla's leg. "Bring this home, girl." Rose stood there and watched Apolla fly out of sight before she began to make her way back to the seventh floor.


	7. Confrontation

Thoughts of what her mother might say in reply raced through Rose's head as she reached the seventh floor corridor. Out of no where came Albus looking flustered.

"Hiya, Al. What are you doing out in the corridors?" Rose said.

"Looking for you!" Albus yelled. "Scorpius came back to the common room alone for the first time EVER and you weren't anywhere to be seen. I got really worried!"

"Sorry. I went up to the owlery to write my mum a letter and let Apolla out for some exercise. I hope you're not mad at me."

"No, I'm not. But I do have to ask: What is going on between you and Scorpius?"

"Albus! Nothing's going on between us!" Rose shrieked.

"Likely." he said unbelievingly. "You two are always together since the start of term. I see you leaving lessons holding hands and how you two are at night in front of the fire. So either tell me what is going on or I'll just have to write to your mum and dad myself and see if they agree that something is going on between you two."

"Fine! You know what, Albus. I have absolutely no idea what we really are. Let me figure it out before you run off and turn me in to granddad and grandmum. Please. Don't do this before I can find out." Her tone seemed like she was pleading with him not to sell her out as they arrived that the fat lady's portrait. The cousins climbed through the whole in the wall to the common room which was empty besides Scorpius in his regular chair by the fire reading another book.

Albus then looked back at Rose, giving her a nod as to say that he will not turn her in, then retired to the boys' dormitory


	8. Letters From Home

Rose walked over to the fire and sat in the chair adjacent to him, and inquired, "What exactly _are _we, Scorpius?"

Scorpius took in her words for a few moments, trying to best phrase his answer in his head before he spoke out loud. "If you remember earlier today down by the lake when I asked if we were friendly, I was really asking if you would be my girlfriend. I wouldn't have kissed you if you had said no. I know we've only known each other for a week, but we've both said how we feel like we've known each other our whole lives. We have that chemistry people talk about when they've found someone they can be completely themselves around. I'm not scared to tell you that my family was in league with Voldemort when he tried to defeat your uncle and I'm not ashamed to tell you that my father fancied your mother all through their schooling. I'm so at ease when I'm with you."

Rose sat there awestruck at what he'd just said; not about Voldemort because she had known all along about his family's participation during the second war, but about his father always fancying her mother. She was always told growing up that Draco Malfoy was known for calling her the most foul names known to wizard kind.

"My dad missed out on Hermione Granger 25 years ago, and here I am falling in love with her daughter. I won't be a coward like he was and only admire you from afar and hide behind a macho attitude by making fun of you. I want to admire you up close, like now."

Rose could feel the tears stinging her eyes as Scorpius stood and pulled her up with him into a tender embrace. Hot tears fell from her eyes, down her cheeks as he moved the two of them to the couch, where they laid until well after midnight just watching the fire, saying nothing at all.

Dawn approached as she woke on the couch in the common room all alone. Rose stumbled to her feet when she saw the note pinned to her robes from Scorpius.

__

"Good morning beautiful,

I hope you slept well. I didn't want to wake you once you fell asleep. You looked so peaceful. I would have brought you up to your dormitory but I couldn't risk the alarm going off and waking your roommates.

I'll meet you in the Great Hall at noon for lunch. I'm spending my morning in the library working on our Muggle Studies paper that you have already finished. See you!

With love,

Scorpius."

She checked her watch before heading up to the dormitory to change her clothes before heading down to breakfast. As she dug into her toast an hour later, owl post arrived with a surprisingly fast response from her mother on Apolla. Before opening the letter, she handed her owl the rest of her toast as a treat for her first letter flight.

__

"Dear Rosie,

It's good to hear that the first week back is going well. I'm sorry about the homework and if you'd like, I'll owl Professor Longbottom about cutting back on your homework a bit. Your father and I have some exciting news that we can't wait to tell you and Hugo, but we won't do it separately, so I guess you will both just have to wait till the holidays to hear.

As for the boy situation, I'm glad to hear you made a new friend, and even if he IS a pureblood, your father and I only want what is best for you. We do have a hard time believing, however, that you and a Malfoy have much in common, unless he is the character opposite of his father at that age. Can't wait to hear back from you.

Lots of love,

Mum & Dad"

She was in shock at her mothers letter. **I wonder what they have to tell us. AND I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY ARE OKAY WITH SCORPIUS! **Inside her mind, Rose was doing her own little happy dance. She was so ecstatic that her parents were going to let this happen. A pack of wild thestral-sized butterflies came into Rose's stomach at the thought of telling Scorpius that she actually asked her parents for permission to see him. She rose from the table just as another owl came down onto the Gryffindor table in front of her in a crash landing. The grey barn owl hooted with glee as Rose took the letter off his leg before flying off again out of the Great Hall. As she walked out, she noticed the letter was addressed to Scorpius and read it. She knew he would share the contents of it with her anyways, but she was curious anyways.

"Dear Scorpius,

I'm glad to hear that your first week of Hogwarts is going well and that you even have time for recreation between your studies. I'm proud that you are in Gryffindor house, not Slytherin. You are a Malfoy, yes, but you are so much different then the rest of the family. I'm proud to call you my son.

Something about your letter troubled me though. I can't let you see this Rose girl. She is like you, which is great, but she is a Weasley. You're FAR too good for her. If you continue to date her, I will find out about it. So I'm giving you a choice; The girl or Hogwarts. If you chose the girl, I'll be calling at Hogwarts to get you and send you right back to Durmstrang. I don't want to be like that, but I must.

Dad."

Rose folded the letter back up and ran straight for the common room. Her tears began to fall faster and faster the closer she got to the Gryffindor Tower, until she ran straight into Scorpius right down the corridor.

"Rose? Sweetie, what's the matter?" Scorpius said lovingly.

"HERE!" Rose screamed handing him the letter. "Listen to daddy. I'm not good enough for you. Education IS more important then some Weasley!" 

"Rosie, what are you talking about?"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT! JUST LEAVE ME THE BLOODY HELL ALONE!" she yelled as she continued running down the corridor.


	9. The Fight

In all her life, Rose could never remember her running as fast as she was then. As she ran, her hair flailed everywhere, knotting in the process, he mascara running down her cheeks and her robes ripped from rounding the corner into the second floor girls' bathroom. All she wanted to do was be alone, and no one ever used that particular bathroom except Moaning Myrtle. Rose wrenched the door open and collapsed around the circle of sinks.

"I wish I'd never met him! His family is HORRIBLE! ANYONE with a father THAT vile has GOT to be the same!" Rose cried uncontrollably.

Myrtle heard the girls' cry and came out of her toilet to see what she was so upset about. "It's okay, Rose. Who has such a vile father?" she asked sounding concerned.

"SCORPIUS MALFOY AND HIS GREAT GIT OF A FATHER, DRACO!" she screeched breaking into more powerful sobs.

"Rose, there must be some misunderstanding. Draco Malfoy is a kind, sensitive man. What would ever give you the impression that he was so terrible?" Myrtles' small fits of giggles weren't helping the situation very much at all.

"Okay, Myrtle. You've been in this bathroom for HOW many years?! You WANT to know why I think he's so terrible?! He told his son that I'm just another WEASLEY and that I'm NOT good enough!"

"Well, when HE was in school, young lady, he spent EVERYDAY in his sixth year in the third floor boys' bathroom crying! Someone SOO VILE can't possibly be that sensitive." Myrtle said, trying to make Draco out to be an innocent schoolboy still at forty-two years old.

"Bloody hell, Myrtle, JUST SHUT UP!" Rose screamed, trying to compile herself hoping to leave her company soon enough.

"Young lady, LEAVE MY BATHROOM!"

"With pleasure!" Rose yelled indignantly, sounding more like her mother then ever before.

Slamming the door behind her, Rose stalked her way up to the common room with her head hung low and her arms tightly crossed across her chest. As the portrait of the fat lady swung open, she knew something must be wrong. All of the students were scattered talking and an occasional girl was crying, including her cousin Lilly, sitting on the floor next to the fireplace.

"Lilz, what's the matter?" she asked sounds more composed then she realized.

She managed to stop crying for a few minutes long enough to tell Rose what all the commotion was. "James and Albus saw you screaming at Scorpius, and they knew something had gone really wrong. I guess Hugo told them the night before to watch out for you when he wasn't around because he thought something might happen. So, they saw you run away in tears and, and, and they both went after Scorpius. He didn't even fight back! He just sat there and took the beatings. James kept pounding on him while Albus went and found Hugo to join in. It turned into 3 against 1 and he STILL refused to fight back! So then hexes started flying everywhere! You could never tell who was throwing them and to where they were headed. Scorpius took 35 hexes, and two strays hit Hugo and Al. They both got hit with _Sectemsempra. _James feels terrible. He's been in McGonagall's office since it happened, and the others went to the Hospital Wing."

Again, Rose set off at a full speed run, not to the bathroom, but to the hospital wing on the fifth floor. The door was open when she reached the hallway and she sprinted even fast to Hugo's beside and there she remained.


	10. Dreams

Nearing closer to midnight, Albus began to stir. Continuing to regain some strength, he immediately began to start apologizing for getting Hugo involved.

"I'm so entirely sorry, Rose. He told me and James to watch out for you and when we saw you crying and screaming at him, we assumed the worst and we … we just went after him. James, I didn't even know he KNEW those spells. He must have thought that the first didn't hit him, so threw the second, which hit Hugo. Scorpius was knocked unconscious at one point but --"

"ALBUS! JUST STOP IT OKAY!" Rose yelled feeling the tears stinging her eyes again. "You were just trying to protect me. I'm not mad at you. I just want to forget about it. Go back to sleep, you need some rest."

He did just as his cousin wished and drifted silently back into his own dreamland. Soon, Rose rested her own head on the bedside table next to Hugo, and gently glided her own self into troubled dreams.

_There she was, a vision in lilac standing in the Entrance Hall, ready to enter the Enchanted Ball on New Years Eve. The only thing stopping her was that she had to wait for her dates' arrival; Scorpius Malfoy. It seemed to be getting a little crowded and Scorpius was no where in sight._

"All students attending the Enchanted Ball, please find your escorts and enter the Great Hall immediately," Headmistress McGonagall spoke.

Rose was now deeper in panic then she was before. She had to find him or she wouldn't be allowed into the ball! Searching high and low, left and right for Scorpius was getting easier as her fellow students made their way into the Great Hall.

Finally, she spotted Scorpius standing just outside the Great Hall and began to make her way over to him with a pleasant smile on her face. He looked as if he was alone until the crowd thinned evermore and soon she realized that he was not as alone as she believed.

There to his right, stood a tall, blond man with a receding hairline with a smug grin on his face; a face she knew to be that of his father, Draco Malfoy. To his left was someone else Rose instantly recognized and was the last person she'd ever expect to see him with; Twilight.

Draco took a step forward and gave a malevolent grin to Rose. "You **really **thought I would let MY son go to the ball with YOU?! Hahahaha! You must have inherited your fathers' wit. I know you were informed that he was far better then you!"

Scorpius gave a distant smile as he said, "My father is right. You are most definitely not good enough for me, but Twilight here is." He pulled her close to him and kissed her hard on the mouth. Once the improbable pair broke apart, he led Twilight by the hand into the Great Hall.

Rose stood there absolutely stunned, unsure of what to do or say, practically in a trance until Mr. Malfoy interrupted.

"I'm warning you. Stay away from my son."

She woke in a start still in the chair beside her brother. Startled from her dream, she kissed her brothers forehead and quickly left the infirmary.


	11. WakeUp Calls

The sun hadn't even began to rise before she made her way into the girls' dormitory to wake Twilight.

"TL, wakey wakey!" Rose said shaking her.

"Rose! It's still dark out! What do you _WANT_?!

"Meet me in the common room in five minutes." Rose walked over to her own four poster bed and pulled out a fresh pair of robes from her trunk then proceeded down to the common room. A few minutes later, Twilight began to emerge from the girls' dormitory in her school robs and saw Rose sitting in the chair nearest the fire sipping at a hot chocolate. She made her way next to her best friend since birth and sat down next to her. Twilight Longbottom was a little over five feet tall, with pale white skin and the same shade of blue eyes as Rose and dark curly hair that went all the way down her back. Rose still couldn't tell which parent she looked more like.

"Alright, Rose. It's six in the morning. Something's **OBVIOUSLY** bothering you. Spill."

"Twilight. I'm so messed up." Rose said like she was admitting to one of the seven deadly sins.

"Tell me something I _don't _know. We've known each other our whole lives. Just spill it."

"You know. You **WANT** me to tell you what's going on, but you're giving me an attitude. Forget it." Rose said powerfully.

"Sorry. You know I'm not much of a morning person. Come on, Rose. You can tell me anything. What's the matter?"

Taking a deep breath and a few moments to prepare how to best tell Twilight about her problem, Rose finally spoke. "I really liked Scorpius. I trusted him more then anyone but you. And after only about fifteen hours of officially dating, he screws **EVERYTHING** up."

"How? How did someone so **SMITTEN** with you mess something up that fast?" Twilight inquired.

"I read a letter from his father. It said I wasn't good enough for him. I was so devastated."

"So you're telling me that his _father _is the one who said you weren't good enough?!"

"Yes," she said meekly.

"Did he say that he agreed with him?"

"No."

"Did he say anything that would lead you to believe that he agreed with him?"

"No."

**"ROSE! ARE YOU COMPLETELY BRAINDEAD?! HIS FATHER IS THE ONE THAT DOESN'T THINK YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH! THAT BOY IS CRAZY ABOUT YOU! NOTHING HIS ARROGANT ASS OF A FATHER CAN SAY WILL CHANGE THAT!"**

An awkward silence filled the common room as Rose thought about what Twilight said. Soon, students began to make their way into the common room before running off to breakfast. She had to see Scorpius. She had to talk to him, to find out how he really felt about her, but she couldn't do it until after lessons.

All through breakfast, Rose was quieter then normal as she picked at her plate. She didn't even noticed when James plopped himself down next to her at the table and the sound of his voice made her jump.

"Hey, Rosie. I'm really sorry about yesterday." James said.

"Don't worry about it, James. Madam Pomfrey said that Hugo will be alright once he finally wakes up and he'll be out in a little over a week. Albus is supposed to get out later this week, isn't he? All is forgiven, James."

"How's Scorpius doing?"

"I'm not sure."

"I'm really sorry. Especially because now I have detention every Friday night and every other Sunday till Christmas. Same with Albus. Hugo only has the every other Sunday with us because he had barely joined in before I hit him with the curse."

"Where exactly _did _you learn _Sectemsempra_?" she asked inquisitively.

"I heard our dads talking about it one night. I'd never knew it what it did though, until it hit our brothers."

"Thanks." _I've just got to make it through today and get back to the hospital wing to talk to him,_ Rose thought.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Rose was spacious. During last hour Herbology, Professor Longbottom had to say her name with a substantial amount of force to regain her attention. At the end of class, he had asked her to remain in the room for a few moments. 

"You're really distracted today, Rosie. I'm guessing its got to do with Hugo?" Rose nodded her head to her professor rather then speaking. "How is he doing anyways?"

"Good I guess. He still hasn't woken up though. Madam Pomfrey says that once he wakes up, he'll be out and as good as new in about a week."

"I wish him the best of luck. And Rose, you know if something else is on your mind, you can come talk to me. I _have _known you since you were born and I _do_ have a sixteen year old of my own. Just know my doors always open for you."

"Thanks, Neville. I'm going to head back up to the castle to see Hugo. Maybe he's woken up."

"Okay. Tell him I say hello if he is."

"Will do," Rose said smiling as she left greenhouse two and began trudging her way back up to the castle. She entered the hospital wing and something was wrong; only two beds were occupied. Confused, she knocked on Madam Pomfrey's office door.

"Hello Miss Weasley. What may I do for you today?"

"Hi Madam Pomfrey. I was just wondering what happened to one of your patients; Scorpius Malfoy?" Rose said trying to sound polite and concerned.

"Oh my dear, we transferred him to St. Mungo's this morning. His injuries were much worse then I had realized. The healers just sent word that he should be back to school in about a week as good as new."

Tears stung Rose's eyes for what felt like the thousandth time in the last thirty-six hours. "Thank you, Madam. I do have a question though."

"What is it my dear?"

"Am I able to write him?"

"Of course dear," she said sweetly.

"Thank you, Ma --…"

"Rosie," a weak voice called from the other side of the room.

"Hugo?"

"I owe you an explanation," Hugo said even weaker.

"An explanation?" Rose inquired.

"About the letter," he responded barely able to talk.

"H-how did you know about the letter?" she asked quietly. Before Hugo had the chance to answer her, he fell back to sleep

* * *

**A/N: I hope everyone is enjoying the story. I've gotten quite a few reviews and all were positive, so thank you all for reviewing. :) I'll have another chapter up later on either today or first thing tomorrow. But sadly, I believe there may not be many chapters left. LEAVE REVIEWS AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.**

PS. - **Disclaimer** - I DON'T OWN THESE CHARACTERS OR THEIR FAMILIES OR ANY OF THE THINGS IN HERE, JUST THE IDEAS!


	12. The Truth Comes Out

Rose knew it would be a while before he awoke again and was able to talk freely. She sat by his bed for hours attempting homework or reading, but nothing worked. Her mind was occupied by thoughts of what Hugo had to tell her and what she needed to say to Scorpius. She knew what she had to do.

Pulling out a spare bit of parchment, a quill, and ink, Rose began to pen a letter to Scorpius.

(This was a lot harder then she imagined)

I hope you're doing better. I want to apologize for my families' behavior. It was wrong. I know they were only looking out for me, but it doesn't excuse their actions.

I also want to apologize on my behalf. I overreacted and I shouldn't have read the letter in the first place. I guess I was just so scared that someone actually like me that I freaked out and believed the first bad thing I heard. I'll understand if you agree with your father and choose your education over me. I'm just a girl. Your education is much more important. Write me back when you are feeling up to it.

Sincerely,

Rose Molly Weasley."

She looked the letter over six or seven times before deciding her next action. She stood at Hugo's bedside, kissed him gently on the forehead and made her way out of the hospital wing and up to the owlery.

Apolla had just flown out into the reddish sunset over the lake when the door opened to reveal a concerned Twilight.

"Hey, Rosie. I just heard about Scorpius," she said.

"Yeah. I just sent him a letter. What you said earlier got to me. I knew I overreacted and needed to let him know that."

"Good for you. And good for me. I actually said something that **HELPED**! Hahahaha. C'mon. Lets head down to the Great Hall to see what we can scrounge up at the Gryffindor table."

"I'd rather just go to the kitchens and have Winky make me Peanut Butter and Jelly with a side of Macaroni and Cheese."

Twilight gave a loud laugh and just looked at Rose in amusement. "I figured you were hungry, not **PREGNANT**!" she said jeeringly.

"Oh shut up! I'm not pregnant! When I'm at home and I'm stressed out, my dad makes me a PB&J sandwich and when I'm upset, my mum makes Mac & Cheese as my comfort food. So seeing as how I'm stressed _and _upset, I thought the combo might do it, as disgusting as it sounds." By this time, their conversation had taken them all through the castle down to the dungeons right in front of the portrait of fruit. Twilight tickled the pear and the portrait swung open to reveal the Hogwarts kitchen and thousands of house elves.

"Hello Miss Weasley, Miss Longbottom. How can Winky help you today?" a small house elf wearing a pink jumper and a small hat upon her head by the name of Winky, said.

"Hiya, Winks." Twilight said. "Can you whip up some Mac & Cheese with a side of PB&J for Rose over here?"

"Absolutely, Miss Longbottom." She bowed politely for the girls, then turned away quickly to get busy making the requested food.

"Geez, she's not as big of a miserable lush that our parents said she was," she added quietly grabbing a small apple and biting into it.

Twenty minutes later, Rose and Twilight made their way back up to Gryffindor tower in the empty corridors of the castle.

"Twilight, I think I'm just going to head back to the hospital wing. Maybe Hugo will be awake this time."

"Alright. I'll see you back in our room at about nine." She gave Rose a quick hug and ran in the opposite direction. Rose reached the hospital wing and noticed Hugo was sitting upright in his bed eating a bowl of lime jello.

"Hey, Rosie." Hugo said beaming.

"Hey! You're finally awake! You scared me for a few minutes there!" She wrapped her arms around her brother and hugged him tightly. Slowly, Rose began to tell him about school, lessons, new rumors; basically anything she could think of. It was great to talk to him again.

Finally, the topic of the fight came up, detention, and punishments. Hugo didn't seem concerned that he had detention every other weekend. He looked partly troubled through the entire conversation.

"Rose, I have a confession … I wrote the letter."

"_**WHAT**_?!" She screamed!

"On Saturday night," Hugo began, "Albus told me about what he said to you in the corridor and how you were going to ask Scorpius what exactly you were. I had just made it out of the dormitories' in time to hear him say you were together. I didn't think dad would like it if you two were dating. I remembered how he described Mr. Malfoy being arrogant and a bloody ass about a lot of things. Then on Sunday morning, I knew Scorpius would be in the library most of the day, so I ran up to the owlery and wrote the letter, sending the owl straight down to the Great Hall. I figured you'd open it, well, at least I'd HOPED you would. Right after the owl flew off, I ran off to find Albus and James only to beg them to watch out for you. Once I left them, I headed to the library to lure him into the corridor. I knew you'd come running right past the library, completely appalled. I knew they'd see the argument. I'm so sorry, Rosie. I never meant for you to get hurt like that, or for Scorpius to get hurt the way he did." Hugo shook uncontrollably while he admitted his deceitful act. Rose was finding a balance within herself now, infuriation versus irritation.

"I … I can't believe you **DID THAT**! Do you know exactly how badly that _hurt_?! How would you like it if you thought your girlfriends' father thought you weren't good enough for her!"

"I didn't think he was good enough for you," he admitted very quietly.

"So, everything you said in that letter was how you felt about _HIM_?"

"he screamed as tears fell down his cheeks like rain in a summer thunderstorm. "_I'M SO SORRY, ROSIE! PLEASE, PLEASE, _forgive me!" he sobbed.

"It's --" Rose was interrupted by a wrapping on the window. A dark brown barn owl hooted happily outside with a letter clutched tightly in its beak. Getting up off the edge of Hugo's bed, Rose made her way to the window, taking the letter from the happy owl and then back to the bed to sit. She looked at the front of the letter.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Hospital Wing.

Bed Three.

She shot Hugo a suspicious look who just shrugged his shoulders while blowing his nose on a napkins. Carefully, she opened the letter to see a neat script much like that of Scorpius. Again, she shot a glance her brothers way who gestured in a manner that she was to read it. Taking a deep breath, she began to read the perfect script that was too familiar.

"Dear Scorpius,

Headmistress McGonagall just wrote me of the fight. Those boys are too much like their fathers if you ask me. Both are too quick to jump into a fight. Don't worry about them, though son. I'm proud to hear you didn't fight back. You're much too smart for that.

I was in the middle of writing a reply to the letter I received this morning when I got the other owl.

I must say I'm very proud of you, son. You've fallen for the daughter of the girl who got away. Take her in, love her, and cherish her. If she's anything like her mother, that shouldn't be all that hard to do. Hope you're to be well soon.

With love,

Dad."

Finally, the truth came out.

* * *

A/N: I'm betting you weren't expecting THAT twist were you? I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :) I'm going away for the weekend, SOO nothing new will be posted until 8/13/07. I hope that you are all wondering what Scorpius will say and if Rose will forgive her brother. I'm wondering the same things! REVIEWS PLEASE?! 


	13. Warm Welcomes

Over a week had gone by since Hugo's confession, yet still no word from Scorpius. Even though Hugo had checked out of the Hospital Wing, Rose still went every day to seek information on Scorpius' well being at St. Mungo's.

Each night that entire first week, Rose would arrive at the Great Hall at exactly 6p.m. to read her Evening Prophet, eat a small ration of food, and have a small conversation with Twilight. Since she still hadn't forgiven Hugo, the only family member she would speak to was Lilly. At exactly 7 each night, she would make her way up to the common room to work on homework or leisure reading, then went to bed at 9:30. She fell back into her original school routine that she'd had since her first year at Hogwarts like the first two weeks had never happened.

Every day that went by, Rose began to lose hope on Scorpius' recovery. Madam Pomfrey told her that he had been waking up sporadically for the first few days, completely full of energy. But soon there after, he wasn't waking up at all. Eventually, Rose stopped going to the Hospital Wing because his condition only upset her more. Soon enough, Rose was only going to the Great Hall for dinner to receive her evening paper, then off to the kitchens to read it while she ate Mac & Cheese with a side of Peanut Butter and Jelly.

By now it had been almost two months since the fight and still no sign of Scorpius. Everyday that went by, Rose became more and more worried. _I know he's not dead, _she thought to herself.

* * *

On Halloween morning, Rose mad a small detour to the Hospital Wing before going to breakfast in the Great Hall.

"Good morning, Miss Weasley." Madam Pomfrey said sweetly. "It's been weeks since you've stopped by. Are you feeling well?"

For the last month, Rose started to let herself go. She was hardly sleeping, explaining the bags under her eyes the size tennis balls. Her once sleek hair was frizzed and her peachy complexion was now a pale white. She looked rather ill to anyone willing to look her way. "No, madam. I'm quite well actually. I just stopped by to see how --,"

"How Mr. Malfoy is doing?" she interrupted.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Mr. Malfoy checked out of St. Mungo's yesterday morning and is currently spending the weekend with his parents and grandmother. He'll be returning to school tomorrow evening around 6p.m."

A smile instantly crossed Rose's face, flooding it with more color then she had seen in weeks. She ran to hug Madam Pomfrey then ran out. She had some planning to do.

* * *

Rose ran around all day inviting students, professors, and castle ghosts to a welcome back party for Scorpius. She had to go all out to show him how much she missed him.

At six o'clock Sunday night, the Fat Ladies Portrait swung open and Scorpius saw his first glance of the Gryffindor common room in almost two months. To his surprise, every Gryffindor, Professor, and ghost in the castle was there holding wrapped boxes in one hand and mugs of butter beer in the other. Suddenly, all turned to where he was standing and shouted, "SURPRISE!"

The room was thoroughly decorated in Gold and Red streamers, Chudley Cannon's posters, and bewitched WELCOME BACK posters hung from every wall.

_He looks so pleased,_ Rose said inside her head. Out of no where, she noticed James and Albus making their way over to a slightly scared Scorpius, cornering him next to one of the Quidditch posters. Alarm spread through her quickly as she started pushing and shoving through people to get to Scorpius.

"Hey mate. We're really sorry. It was all a big misunderstanding and we wish it never happened. I hope we can make it up to you sometime." James seemed wholeheartedly sincere in his apology, which made her feel a little better, but not much.

"It's alright. I'm better now so its all in the past, guys. You're forgiven." Scorpius said grinning slightly.

"BOYS!" Rose yelled loudly. "James, Albus, GO! Haven't you tortured him enough already?!"

"Wow, James. She actually spoke to us!" Albus said excitedly.

"Rosie, we were just apologizing." James said. "You don't have to go all Auntie Hermione on us."

"Oh shut up and go!" The Potter boys both smiled, completely pleased that Rose had finally said something to them, then walked over to Lilly and Twilight. Rose had practically forgotten that Scorpius was standing right next to her until he tapped her politely on the shoulder.

"Hey Rosie. I missed you." He said in a small voice.

"Hi." she said in an equally small tone.

"I'm glad to be back."

"I'm glad you're back."

"I got your letter."

"I read another of yours."

"I figured you would."

"What?"

"I wrote it."


	14. Long Overdue Explanations

"What _is it _with the men in my life writing letters **pretending **to be _YOUR FATHER?!_" she screamed.

"He wrote me, apologizing for all the trouble he caused, telling me he didn't mean what he wrote. Here," he said pausing so he could dig out a bit of crinkled parchment from his robes. Gently, he pushed it into her hands. "Please, read." And so she did.

Dear Scorpius,

It's Hugo Weasley here. I wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday. I'm sure you're concerned about why it happened, which is why I'm writing.

I wrote the letter that set Rose off. I asked our cousins to just watch her, make sure you didn't get violent with her when she started screaming. Apparently, James and Albus didn't hear the argument fully because they thought you yourself made her cry and they just went after you. It wasn't supposed to be like that at all.

Well, to be brutally honest, I didn't think you were good enough for her. But now, I think you will suffice. I love my sister a lot, and I know she's crazy about you. On top of all of that, you didn't fight back when we all started attacking you. On my own account, I only hit you because of all the rotten things your father used to say and do to my parents back in school.

Please, don't be mad at Rose, James, or Albus. Be mad at me for causing this whole ordeal.

Sincerely,

Hugo Remus Weasley.

"Rosie, don't you see now? I had to do something. I wrote to you as my father, hoping that you'd still have hope for us after you read it. I don't care what people will think of us, whether they approve or not, especially our parents."

"You still want to be with me … after all the trouble my family has caused?" she said blushing a light pink. Scorpius moved toward her slowly, even though there was barely any distance between them before. He took her hand, sending butterflies in a tizzy throughout her stomach. A familiar blazing look crossed his face as he stared deep into her blue eyes with his own. Slowly, he leaned in, capturing her lips with his own. The kiss was filled with fiery passion, their tongues dancing to the sound of their hearts beating deep within their chests. Scorpius wrapped his arms tightly around her waist while Roses' hands were running through his platinum blond hair.

A few moments later, the embrace abruptly ended when the whole common room broke into applause.

"So does this mean that you believe there is hope for us after all?" she said slightly redder then ever.

"Rosie, that means there still _is _an us and I don't care WHAT anyone else says. I've missed you so much."

She was completely speechless. No one had ever spoken to her with such a loving tone before; not even her parents. She'd missed him so much, especially his kiss. Leaning in once more, Rose took his lips with her own. He held her tightly as they kissed again. Rose was finally back in the arms of the man of her dreams. Easing back to catch her breath, she whispered a sweet, "I've missed you, too," in his ear. And that was enough for them.

* * *

**A/N :: Sorry its taken me SOO incredibly LONG to update. I'm horrible, I know. But I've got the next couple chapters lined up and the ending isn't coming as soon as I'd hoped. I got hit smack dab in the middle of the face with quite a few good ideas on how to end it. REVIEWS PLEASE!!! **


	15. An Underlying Fear

The next month and a half went by in a foggy haze for the young couple. Between lessons, homework, and studying, time was flying faster then they thought. Things went back to the original way they were the first week of school. Rose and Scorpius held hands between lessons, did homework together every night, and just spending all their time together. If by chance they weren't, Rose would be off with Twilight and Scorpius would be off with the boys. James, Albus and Hugo became good friends with him and enjoyed their "boy time" together as often as possible.

Upon the first snow of the season in early December, Rose and Scorpius made a whole day out of snowball fights, snow angels, and hot cocoa in the 30 centimeters that fell effortlessly from the sky the previous night.

"Hey Rose?" Scorpius asked as he poured her another steaming hot cup of hot chocolate.

"Yeah?"

"I know its really corny and cliché of me to ask you this, but I wanted to make it official. But, will you please attend the Enchanted Ball with me on New Years' Eve?"

"OF COURSE!" she yelped happily, almost chocking on her cooling beverage. The smile that crossed his lips told Rose something she had known all along; life just couldn't get any better then this.

The Saturday before Christmas was the students last chance to get to Hogsmeade to get Christmas gifts and appropriate attire for the ball. The morning of the visit was bitterly cold and the air was crisp. The castle grounds were blanketed in a fresh layer of snow, causing the road to Hogsmeade to be an icy walk indeed.

Rose and Twilight walked arm in arm, in and out of shops all through the village the entire morning. By noon, both girls were frozen to the bone and took refuge in the sixth boutique they came across. Although it was on the small side with deep red curtains accentuating the beige walls, this store held promise to the young girls. The one very unique thing about this _particular _shop was that instead of racks of hanging gowns, there were lanterns hanging all over the shop on walls, the ceiling and even off of people that worked there dressed in doll sized clothing. After both girls gave a small giggle at the sight, they began to meander around the shop occasionally picking up a lantern to get a closer look, and rarely to hold onto for an exchange.

The two girls picked four lanterns each and exchanged them with the clerk for size fours' then headed off to the changing rooms. Trying them on was the best part out of the whole process. Twilight went first, strutting her stuff all over the conjoined changing area. Unable to decide between two gowns; a midnight blue strapless, floor length gown with a sequined pattern in the shape of a half moon and a deep red spaghetti strapped gown with a lacy hoop skirt.

"I'd go with the red one. It goes so well with your skin tone, never mind how well it will look with James' robes," Rose said itching to try on her _own_ choices.

"You're right. You know, I CAN'T believe I'm going to the Enchanted Ball with JAMES POTTER!" Twilight sang jubilantly dancing around the changing room in the ball gown.

"Alright, alright. MY turn." For the next half hour, Rose tried on four different dresses; black, lilac, powder blue, and emerald green. Finally settling on the most perfect dress she'd ever seen, Rose and Twilight paid the sop owner for their gowns with matching shoes and accessories, then made their way back up to the castle. Talking excitedly all the way back about the ball, Christmas and a whole week without lessons, being back into the warm castle was a gift. The moment the pair stepped into the common room, a pair of hands grabbed Rose from behind, causing her to make an earth shattering scream.

"Hey, hey, hey. Rosie, its just me." Scorpius laughed. "I didn't mean to scare you, it was James' idea. I just wanted to see how the shopping went. OBVIOUSLY well since you are both carrying dress bags and two large OTHER bags. The ball is in eight days. I hope that dress you bought is magical." He winked then kissed her lightly on the cheek before he sauntered back over to the fireplace next to James' who had on a devilish grin and winked at Twilight. Both slightly blushing, they made their way up to the girls' dormitory to start parading around in their new shoes to break them in.

Christmas Eve passed quickly since most of the day consisted of short term goodbyes to students going home for the Holidays, only to return on December the 30th for the Ball.

"Do you realize how _lucky _we are to be going to this ball?" Twilight asked late Christmas Eve night. "I mean, it only happens once every fifty years. Our parents never even got to go, maybe our grandparents, but still!"

"Why do you suppose the ball is only once every half-century?" Rose inquired as she fought with the Christmas wrapping on Hugo's present.

"Don't you know ANYTHING Rose?"

"Not really."

She jumped off of her four poster bed and sprang down onto the floor next to her best friend. "UGH! This wrapping paper is TOO SMALL!" Rose screeched.

Whipping out her wand and pointing it at the paper, Twilight spoke, "_Engorgio_!"

"Thanks." she said as she finished the last fold.

"So, this ball is only done twice a century not because its cost the school a fortune, but because its revolved around a natural phenomenon only visible to wizards. At midnight, we all go outside and stand in the snow. Exactly at 12:01 AM, a snowflake falls from the sky and into each attendee's hand with the name of your one true love on it. It's so romantic." Twilight proclaimed as she pretended to be a melting snowman, sprawling out all over the dormitory floor.

"Well, this could prove to be interesting," she mumbled under her breath. Rose stood to admire her handy work on all the gifts she'd wrapped then proceeded to her bed for a troubled night of sleep.

_It was almost midnight on New Years' Eve as Rose and Scorpius made their way across the dance floor, thoroughly enjoying each others company. Smiling brightly, Scorpius twirled her all over the floor in a stunning black gown with lilac lace and ruffles in her hoop skirt. She was the most beautiful girl in the whole world to him and he knew in his heart that he loved her entirely._

"Students!" Professor Longbottom exclaimed cutting off the band. "It's 11:56, which means the snow will fall in exactly five minutes. Please make your way outside!"

Kissing her quickly, Scorpius hurried Rose outside with the rest of the school, taking off his jacket as he did. Immediately upon stepping outside, he realize how frigidly cold it was making him place his jacket on her shoulders before she could even ask. It was the most perfect night for snow. He had no worries, he knew Rose was his one true love and he was going to tell her.

At midnight, all the students applauded in the New Year as they stared up at the night sky.

"Rose." She turned and looked at her grey-eyed prince charming when he said her name. "Rose." he spoke again. "I know that you are my one true love. I don't need a snowflake to tell me that we belong together. I love you." As his heartfelt words crossed his lips, cheers broke out all around them; the heavens opened up and snowflakes began to fall effortlessly from the sky into their hands. With their free hands, Rose and Scorpius reached up to the skies until the precise moment they knew their destiny rested in their hands.

Scorpius let go of Rose's hand to admire his snowflake. He turned it over and saw a name he would have never expected; **Lilly Potter**.

Rose took her hand down from the sky and saw her own name elegantly scripted into the ice particle. Taking a deep breath, she flipped the flake and read off to herself what it said; **No True Love**.


	16. A Memorable Christmas

Rose woke startled, just like that morning in the hospital wing. Unlike the first time however, she was soaked in a cold sweat. Quickly, she padded her face with her comforter on her bed then thought for a moment. _I can't let these dreams happen. This ball has to be perfect. **I **have to look perfect. _Rose jumped out of bed and headed down to the common room to find Hugo, Scorpius, James, Albus, Lilly, and Twilight all sitting around the fire in the same attire she herself presented.

"Morning sleeping beauty," Lilly teased.

"You know, none of you had to wait for me to wake up."

"We know," Twilight began, "but we didn't want to have to wake you."

"I wish you had."

"Well, too bad, Rosie. We waited for you. Now, before our presents spoil, can we PLEASE open them?" Albus whined.

"Well, what are we all waiting for? Rose is up and we're all here. We'll open the family stuff first, then the ones we got for each other last. Lets have at them!" James exclaimed.

All around the room, the family and friends began tearing off the wrapping paper in a tizzy, sending it flying all over the room. _Wow, I've got a pretty good haul so far this year from home. _She had never been more impressed with her Christmas presents before; her usual navy blue wool sweater with a white R in the center from her grandmother and a box of homemade goods; Uncle George sent a new deluxe box of his Weasley Wizarding Wheezes; A 200 galleon gift card to Books and Things (her favorite books and other things store) from Uncles' Bill, Percy, and Charlie and Aunt Fleur; A six volume book set from Luna and Neville Longbottom on Luna's discoveries of magical creatures (including the Crumpled Horn-Snorlacks); many miscellaneous items from Hagrid, and finally a silver diamond studded watch from her parents including a matching silver heart bracelet.

Rose stared at the last present in her pile which she assumed would be from her Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry. She picked up the silver clad flat box and began to feel the eyes of her friends and family shifting in her direction considering she was the only one still opening presents. She tore the paper carefully as to not damage the contents. Finally, Rose opened the box and pulled out a beautiful, jewel incrusted, two way handheld mirror.

Excitedly, Rose flipped it over to turn it on, hoping her Aunt and Uncle would pick up on the other end. Turning it back over quickly, she saw two faces that were not of her aunt and uncle, but of her parents. _This isn't exactly WHO I was expecting._

"Happy Christmas, Rosie! You too, Hugo!" both her parents yelled. "We have something really important to tell you both!" Hermione finished. Hugo, rather then sitting on the arm of the couch, stood behind his sister with his hands on her shoulders while he peered over them from the left.

"Hi, mum and dad! Happy Christmas!" Hugo said cheerfully. Everyone could tell he missed his parents. It was always the hardest part of going to school for him.

"We really can't chat for long. Aunt Ginny wants us over the house in about four minutes. She told us that they bought Rose this for Christmas and she lent us the second so we could tell you both since you weren't coming home for break. We couldn't really wait until Easter holiday to tell you." Ron smiled brighter now then either of his children could remember him doing so before.

"Are you two ready?" their mother inquired. After both Hugo and Rose exchanged glances, they nodded yes, and she continued. "WE'RE HAVING ANOTHER BABY!" Across the room, Twilight and Lilly screeched in delight while the boys all sat there cheering and clapping. Rose and Hugo exchanged another glace as if to say, _Are our parents CRAZY?!_

"Mom, dad, congratulations! When's _it _due?" Rose said when she couldn't say her own thoughts aloud, especially in front of her parents.

"Oh, kids! It's not an _it_, _they're _twins! A boy and a girl that are due in early May!" Rose couldn't bring herself to confront her parents about this horrible timing, and neither could Hugo. Hugo, just couldn't resist himself with his next comment.

"Dad? Aren't you and mum a _bit_ too old to start all over raising kids?"

"I think so, but it is happening and we can't stop it. So, its live and let live to me right now." Ron said still smiling.

"Kids, we really have to go. We're late to brunch. Give everyone our love." And in a quick second, Ron and Hermione disappeared from the mirror. Rose was quite disappointed that she didn't even get to tell her parents to thank her Aunt and Uncle for her.

"Okay!" Twilight yelped, briskly changing the subject. "Rose, since it took you the longest to open your gifts, fork over the ones you got us!" Giggling, Rose went behind the couch to a box she had levitated down the stairs behind her and began passing around the presents. Hugo loved his gold wrist watch with ruby jewels on each hand, and both James and Albus enjoyed their Quidditch clad presents (a book on _How To Be A Better Keeper_ for Albus and new dragon skin Seeker gloves for James) . For Twilight, her best friend, she gave a pair of dragon hide boots with a lime green and pink scarf. She practically strangled Rose when she thanked her with a bear hug.

There was only one wrapped gift left in Roses' box; the one for Scorpius. Slowly, she handed it to him and he gently tore off the wrapping paper to see a large box you'd expect to be packing books in when you move. All eyes were on the box when he opened it, there was a loud bang as confetti shot into the air as well as the contents. A large blanket that looked like it could unfold completely onto a king size bed hung in midair. It was a deep red with a large lion right in the middle, the word **Gryffindor **on the top, **Scorpius** on the bottom, all in gold letters. On the top of the blanket, a little pouch hung with another small box in it. Before he opened it, he looked over at Rose, who said, "Don't worry. Nothing's going to pop out at you this time!" Still, he had a hard time opening it without the anticipation of a small explosion in his face. Inside the box was a watch exactly the same as Hugo's, except Rose knew the one difference; the inscription. He turned it over, wondering if there was one to be surprised at it; _To Scorpius. Happy Christmas, with love, Rosie._

"Oh my god! Rose, I love them! The watch is beautiful! Where ever did you find a place to make the blanket?!" Scorpius was so excited, he jumped up and picked Rose up off her seat and twirled her around in midair.

"Actually, I made it," Rose said slightly embarrassed. "I started it for you while you were in St. Mungo's."

"This is the most amazing gift I've ever received. Thank you so much!" He finally set her down then kissed her lightly on the lips. Letting her go, he sashayed over to the seat he previously occupied and grabbed a large box about the same size as Rose's.

"Oh jeez, you didn't get me the same thing did you?" Rose smiled as she mocked him. At her joking words, He levitated the box above his head, making her jump for it. Finally, he gave in and sent the box over to her and set it in her lap. She didn't care anymore; Rose ripped the wrapping off like a candy bar rapper to a homeless man. Quickly opening the folds, three large leather-bound books caught her eye. Again, Scorpius sauntered over and sat down on the floor next to the box, picking each book up one by one to tell her a story about them.

"The red one is a photo album Hugo helped me put together. It's got pictures of us from when we were younger and pictures of the two of us taken sporadically since the start of term. This green one is a biography on Salazar Slytherin. I know you have the other founders biographies except his. And this gold one is a two way diary. I have the second so we can write during classes or at night after we go to bed. The cool part is that is rings when one of us is writing to the other and it glows. During class, we can just turn them on silent and turn the glow off. Isn't that great?!" He seemed so pleased with him Christmas selections.

"Wow. Scorpius, I love them! Thank you!" Rose said with fake enthusiasm. _I know I like books but, COME ON! I can only read one of these! Is he joking?_ she said to herself. Her fake smile was starting to wear thin until all the other presents started to be handed out.

Twilight took it upon herself to give everyone their gifts now, not leaving it up to the giver to give them as the name suggests. By the time Twilight had finished handing out her own gifts, Rose's smile was no longer fake. James must have talked to Twilight on a perfect gift to get her because both himself and Albus pitched in and bought her the powder blue dress she almost bought for the ball, including all of the matching accessories. Hugo gave Rose a beautiful butterfly necklace with blue and green stones for the wings. She was delighted, after all, her favorite insect WAS a butterfly. Finally, she was down to her gift from Twilight. Opening it just as fast as she opened Scorpius' gift, Rose saw a white box with a funny looking animated mouse on the cover.

"When mum and I went to America over the summer, we stopped at this place called 'Disney World' and this Muggle dressed up like this mouse was like the places mascot. His name is Mickey Mouse." Rose had the biggest smile on her face when she jumped up to hug Twilight. When she sat back down, she opened the box to reveal a white t-shirt, snow globe, watch, pen, oversized lollypop, random pictures of him throughout his creation, and a few other strange little objects, all with his picture on them.

"It's the ultimate in Mickey Muggle Merchandise!"

"Twilight! I love it!"

The rest of the day was basically dedicated to eating the sweets parents sent, trying on clothes, and checking out all aspects of new gifts. By nightfall, all of them were quite tired.


	17. The Prospect of Love

When Rose and Twilight retired to the dormitory that night, Twilight could tell that something was bothering her. As the pair climbed into their separate beds, Twilight asked, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"I know you better then that. What. Is. The. Matter?"

Enraged, Rose jumped out of bed and began pacing. "HOW COULD MY PARENTS HAVE MORE KIDS?! THEY ARE BOTH INTO THEIR FORTIES! THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER! PRETTY SOON HUGO AND I WILL BE OUT OF THE HOUSE, OUT IN THE WIZARDING WORLD ALL ALONE, BUT THEY'LL STILL HAVE THEIR NEW BABIES!"

"I knew that you wouldn't take the news well. Think of it this way, Rose. They love you two so much that they don't want to be alone when you both leave in a matter of two years."

"So, when the new kids grow up, my mom's going to get pregnant at SIXTY?!"

"No, but they will be ready to accept that their kids are all grown up. Your parents are happy about this. Why aren't you?"

"Because I'll never see them." At that instant, she fell to the floor and broke down into tears. Twilight got out of her own bed and sat on the floor comforting her best friend. "I'll be away when they're born. I'll be here for their first birthday. I'll move out shortly after they're one. I'm never going to really get a chance to know my own little siblings like I know Hugo."

"It doesn't have to be like that, Rose." Twilight said, gently stroking her hair. "Your parents won't let that happen, and I know you won't either. Give it a little time to sink in and I'm sure you will love the idea of having two new babies to love."

"I guess you're right."

The girls got up off the floor and got into their separate beds, yet again. Within minutes, Twilight was fast asleep as Rose lay there reading her new book on Salazar Slytherin. About twenty pages in, the two way diary on her bedside table began to glow a ferocious blue. Marking her page with a Mickey bookmark, Rose set the biography down and opened the diary.

"Hey, Rosie. Still up?" Scorpius' elegant script read.

She picked up the quill in the book and wrote, "Yes. Just reading a bit on Salazar Slytherin."

"Do I take it then that you liked your presents?"

"Actually, yes." That was the truth. She did like them, just thought he'd have given her something MORE then books.

"That's great!"

"Do you like yours?"

"I love them! The blanket is so cozy. You did a great job on it, and the watch is so great. It's better then any watch my father has!"

"I'm pleased. I'm going to head to sleep now. All the Christmas festivities wore me out today."

"Well, sleep tight darling. :" She loved his little smiley faces.

"Good night."

Shutting the diary, Rose knew it was time to face dreamland. She turned over in her bed, and fell into a deep, untroubled sleep.

* * *

The week after Christmas was full of laughter, exploration of the school, late nights, and ball preparations. Each morning after the girls had their showers, they would sit in the dorm for at least three hours doing experimental hairstyles to reach a perfect level of elegance for the ball. At one point, the girls were so desperate for ideas that they used the two way mirror to talk to Rose's aunt Ginny who was a Muggle hairstylist. The night before the ball, Rose and Twilight locked themselves in their dormitory to keep redoing their hair to know the most effective and quickest way possible to do it.

Each minute during that week that the girls were holed up in the dormitory working on ball related things, the boys were out goofing off around the castle. Scorpius was now two hundred percent positive that he had made the proper choice in going to Hogwarts rather then Durmstrang. In his eyes, this was the best decision he ever made, and Rose made it all the more special.

The morning of the ball was hectic and full of tension. All of the girls were worried that their gowns wouldn't fit them right or their shoes will break on the way down to the Entrance Hall before the ball or that their one true love would be someone they loathed or would be a person that it could just never work out with. Needless to say, the tension wasn't entirely feminine. In the Gryffindor common room alone, six fights broke out between students over worries that their girlfriends were destined to love someone else. The whole school had gone mad in the prospect of true love.

All afternoon, Rose and Twilight were locking the dormitory doing their hair and nails accompanied by the occasional day dream.

"Rosie!" Twilight called out from the empty common room wrapped up in James' robe jacket already. "Everyone has already left for the Ball! It starts in ten minutes! The boys are waiting! Are you --" Twilight stopped dead mid-sentence when she twirled around from facing the fire to see Rose make her way down the stairs. All she could muster up to say to her was, "Oh. Snap."


	18. Living Nightmare

A/N **I AM SOOO SORRY EVERYONE!!! It's taken me six months to update this, when I've had this written out for just that long!I hope you will all forgive me by reading this! And leaving feed back! I really hope you like this. I've been trying my best to get this up! But with school and homework and living in two houses, one without a computer, I never got the chance to type this up!! But ya, please please forgive me & I hope that you like it!**

**-Becka!**

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"James, you're her cousin! How long does it _TAKE_ for them to get ready?!" Scorpius whined. It was two minutes till eight and Rose, nor Twilight had been spotted in the Entrance Hall amongst the hundreds of other students awaiting access to the ball.

"Man, they're girls. They always have to be 'fashionably late,'" James said coolly, leaning against the wall next to the doors of the Great Hall. Scorpius tried to do the same, but he was already nervous enough. Suddenly, out of no where, a hand firmly grasped his right shoulder. He knew from the grip that is could only be one person. He swung around hastily to face his pursuer.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

* * *

Twilight made her way down the stairs to the Entrance Hall alone with poise and grace, still wearing James' jacket. When she reached the bottom stair, James stood there as she unbuttoned his coat, and he lifted it up off of her shoulders and replaced it on his own back in a regal fairytale sort of way. He took a small step backwards and began to pan over his date for a moment.

Twilight, normally shy and awkward, twirled around in such a way, it felt as though time had slowed, making a second feel like a minute, her beauty emanating from every part of her body. She stood there before James, before her friends and teachers, in the same deep wine red dress from that day in Hogsmeade, but somehow, it fit her so much better then before. The lacey hoop skirt, the shoes, the hair, she was the most stunning person in the room, and James just couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her. Her long brown hair was pulled carefully up in a partial manner, with crimps and curls lining her face and standing out as though she were a supermodel dressed by the worlds best designers and stylists, not by herself and her best friend. After a moment of self admiration on her behalf, Twilight turned slightly on the bottom stair to face the first floor landing, to see the truest beauty that many would never chance a second glance. But not tonight.

Rose Molly Weasley stood there peering down over her friends, family, and teachers, awaiting the perfect moment to make her entrance. Those who were not already looking in the general direction at Twilight, were now staring in awe at Rose. After a moment of hesitation, wishing she could pick Scorpius out among the hundreds of others waiting for her at the bottom, she began to glide down the stairway in the most beautiful and stunning dress anyone had ever beheld. Her strapless floor length, emerald green gown, which hugged her every feminine curve, shimmered in the cascading moonlight that lit the castle. With her long brown tendril curls pulled elegantly back, pinned with a butterfly clip which matched the necklace from Hugo perfectly, she also had two of her own perfectly natural curls hanging loosely to frame her face. As she continued down the stairs, Rose took her right hand, clad in an arm length glove the same color of her dress, and tucked one of her curls behind her ear which was hanging more in her face then properly in place. _So far, So Good._ she thought to herself. When she reached the landing, the hall was finally completely full with students standing happily with their dates mingling with friends, admiring others attire.

"All students attending the Enchanted Ball, please find your escorts and enter the Great Hall posthaste," Headmistress McGonagall spoke from the students from the Entrance to the ball. _Crap, I'm panicking! I can't find Scorpius anywhere!? My dream can't become reality! _But in reality, the panic was well worn, and everyone could notice. She began frantically searching the hall, looking at every student, every wall, every possible place he could be other then where he stood in her dream. Finally, she gave and glanced over at the entrance to the Great Hall, spotting Scorpius immediately. _Great! He looks alone! _More students found their way into the Great Hall when she spotted that he was very much un-alone. To his left was appeared to be a petite witch that looked no older then fifteen, with long, straight white blonde hair. To the witch's left, Rose noticed that her nightmare was truly turning into reality.


	19. Secrets & Truths

Draco Malfoy stood next to his son in emerald green and silver dress robes of his own. "Miss Weasley," he spoke as he took her hand to his lips regally. "It is indeed a pleasure to make your acquaintance, especially tonight of all nights. I'm sure you'd be amazed, but you're entrance was done exactly, almost down to the fixing of your hair, to that of the entrance your mother made in our fourth year heading to the Yule Ball."

"Uhm, well, that _is_ quite fascinating." _Why the hell is he being nice to me? He hates me, my family, everything my life stands for!_

"Rosie," Scorpius spoke timidly as his face went to an all-time pale, even for him, "this is my younger sister, Ileana. Ileana, this is my girlfriend, Rose Weasley."

"Wow!" the young girl screeched. "It is so great to finally meet you, and finally meet more people more like my parents and Scorpius!" Her heart went out to the youngest Malfoy at that exact moment. She had wondered why Scorpius have never mentioned her. They shared everything from embarrassing childhood woe's, to very personal family question. Was he embarrassed that his sister was a squib?

"It is really great to meet both of you," Rose exclaimed with more enthusiasm.

"Scorpius, please take your sister on a quick tour of the castle. Be sure to introduce her to the fat lady, and the headmistress if you get the chance. I'd just like a private word with Miss Weasley." Mr. Malfoy spoke to his children. He was being so intimidating, with years of practice, Rose surmised. Scorpius took his little sister by the hand and led her up to the first floor, hearing her coo's and giggle's of satisfaction with seeing the magical world first hand. Draco held out his arm, asking for her permission to walk with him, which she graciously accepted. He led her towards the dungeons but stopped shortly before at the door to the trophy room. After he took out his wand and unlocked the door, he summoned two chairs for them to sit on while they talked. It must be serious, otherwise he wouldn't find the need to sit for a short chat. They sat timidly in both cases, mostly due to the awkwardness and nerves. A moment or two passed before he cleared his throat to make the first move.

"You have cast quite a spell over my son, you know," he said with fervor. "He has told me of you numerous times and each time, he talks with more passion and much more intensity. From what he has told me, you are exactly like your mother, and now I'm glad I can see for myself that you are." His sincerity sparked something inside of her, and his warm smile calmed the feeling right back down.

"Thank you, sir." She had no idea where in the world this was going, but she knew it could be going no where good.

"Twenty five years ago, I was in love with a brilliant witch; the first woman to ever beat me up, the class know-it-all, and here next to me sits her daughter, the daughter of the woman of my dreams." At this point, Rose swore she could see something that resembled tears well up in his eyes. _Myrtle said he cried all year his sixth year, but I honestly didn't believe her from what my parents had told me. _"Apparently, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in both families. My son is smitten with you, Rose, and from what he's told me, he will not be letting you go any time in the near future.

"Now," he continued, "as his father, I am advising you, do not break his heart. You will surely regret it. Your mother took mine out and tore it to pieces and since you are your mothers daughter, I will expect that you leaving him will hurt him more then any pain I ever experienced years ago. Your mother and I…well, your mother ware she never loved me. In my own heart, I can swear you love my son. Heed my warning, please Hermione Jr., don't break his heart."

With the tears welling in her eyes, Rose suddenly felt brave and spoke, "Mr. Malfoy, I am like my mother in many ways, I know that is true. But I am unlike her in more ways then you can even imagine. I do have a father, you know, you used to call him a great git? I, for one, unlike my mother, would not toy with someone's emotions like she did with you. And, I am absolutely sure you are right about one thing. I know that if I hurt your son, I will surely regret it. Now, if you would please excuse me." She stood up defiantly and began to make her way out of the room, but not before Draco could take a loose grip on her arm.

"Oh, please Rose, forgive me. I never meant to insult you. I just don't want to see him hurt as bad as I had at your age. I never want to see that in anyone, especially not my son." His sorrow lit his face, surely just at the thought of his sixth year, her mother, and imagining his son in pain.

"I understand, sir, and your apology is accepted, but I do have a ball to get to." It wasn't sarcastic. It was heartfelt, and she truly meant it. His toothy smile filled his face once again as he took her arm with his own and walked with her toward the ball, quickly spotting Ileana and Scorpius.

"Daddy!" Ileana screeched. "I LOVE this place! Why don't we have any of this magical stuff at home?! I love it!"

"Sweetheart, it's quite overrated. Now, you two must head into your ball before the headmistress thinks I've captured you. Good evening. Mother sends her love. It was a real pleasure meeting you Rose, and do tell your mother I say hello."

With a quick hug from both Malfoy's, Rose and Scorpius stood, fingers laced, and watched the proud father and his daughter walk out into the snow laden grounds, and disappear into the blackness. They turned to each other, and with that, they entered the ball knowing life was good now. No secrets. No disapproval. Everything was free and open and it felt wonderful.

* * *

For the last hour, Rose had been frantically checking the clock for the time. Finally, it was 11:50, and her strange, irrational behavior subsided, letting her enjoy her time with her boyfriend. Besides her odd behavior, the young lovers were having the most perfect night they could have ever imagined. It was Rose's best dream come true. Even with the run in with Draco, nothing could ruin her night. Not this one, at least. Scorpius had been most delicate while twirling the love of his life across the dance floor. She really was his world; the most important and fragile thing to him.

"Students!" Professor Longbottom exclaimed familiarly "The time is 11:56, which means the snow will fall in exactly five minutes. Please start making your way outside to the grounds!" Scorpius quickly took off his robe, threw it over Rose's shoulder, kissed her quickly, then ran with her at almost a sprint out of the castle and into the crisp winter night.

It was as clear and beautiful as a picture. The fluffy white snow laid on the grounds making the scene even more magical then ever. The frozen lake couldn't even stop the mer-people from sitting ashore and waiting for the new year to begin. The moment was too perfect for something not to ruin it. Finally, the clock by the infirmary struck midnight and cheers broke out among the students and faculty. Students hugged and kissed their ways into the new year, wishing friends good luck and such before their big moments finally arrived.

Just moments, she was sure, before the snow was set to begin arriving, a nervous expression crossed Rose's face. She read it as doubt, nothing else. But luckily she was wrong. He began fiddling in his pockets, trying to do anything he could to get it out fast enough.

"Rosie," he finally said when he finished digging through his pockets, "the snow is going to fall any moment and before it does, I wanted, no, needed to tell you that I love you, and give you this." He finished pulling something out of his pocket in a small black box. When he opened it, Rose's familiar tears filled her eyes as she admired the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen. With a white gold band, heart shaped emerald, and a tiny diamond in the middle, she lost control and cried harder. "It's a promise ring. My promise is that whatever happens in the next sixty seconds or the next sixty years, I will always love you, no matter what. I love you, Rose. I always have."

Oh yes, how the tears fell even harder, if possible, from her beautiful eyes as the love of her life admitted his true feelings for her. "I love you, too!" And with those words, the heavens opened their arms, and the tiny, precious, delicate snowflakes fell from the skies, beholding their destinies.

* * *

**A/N!!! HI EVERYONE!! So you've just finished chapter 19, and I'm sorry to say, that chapter twenty will be my last. Leave plenty of feed back for me. I'm a bit rusty!**


	20. Happily Ever After

**A/N I CANNOT BELIEVE IT'S TAKEN ME ALMOST A YEAR TO WRITE THIS! I've had so many ideas floating around in my head but sitting down to write always gave me writers block. Then I just finished this great story by Anne M. Oliver called A Change of Heart which was a Draco / Hermione story and it made me WANT to finish this. And I actually used a good review to write this one. Thank you! You'll know who you are if you subscribed! :] i really hope you enjoy.**

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"Ryan Michael! I'm not going to tell you again to leave those poor gnomes alone!" Hermione screeched. She then turned to the other half of the five year old twin duo, and said, "Annabelle, dear, can you please go fetch Rosie so Grandma Molly and I can finish fixing her dress?"

"Of course mummy," Annabelle retorted as she skipped in her jumper while her long blond tendrils waved in the wind towards the garden of the Burrow.

It's been five seemingly short years since Rose's sixth year at Hogwarts, the year she learned an awful lot about herself, life, and ultimately, love. She was to be married to Scorpius Malfoy at sunset in the garden of the Burrow in exactly two days. She couldn't believe how long she'd awaited this moment. Standing in the garden overlooking the small village that sat just down the hill from her favorite place in the world, all Rose could do was imagine the life she was going to live with the only man to have ever captured her heart and made her feel so whole. It just felt so unreal that after all of this time, they were surely going to spend the rest of their lives together. With a sigh, she sat in the grass and put her head on her knees. No second thoughts. No worries. The only emotions she could muster up were love and anticipation.

Annabelle was the quieter of the newest Weasley children, her brother loving to be into everything. Ron and Hermione were sure he was taking after his Uncle George, knowing that he was definitely Ryan's favorite family member, besides his big brother, of course. Anyways, Annabelle was quiet as a mouse as she ran out to the garden to fetch Rose. For a moment, she stood still just to look at her big sister. It was something she loved to do, just look at people. She now figured it was time to make herself known when she was only an arms length away. "Rosie!" the little girl whispered into the wind. With a smile, Rose turned herself around slowly, and snatched her little sister into her arms and began tickling her ferociously.

"Rosie! Rosie! Cut it out," Annabelle laughed wickedly.

Rose loved to listen to her sister laugh. It was definitely one of her favorite sounds in the world. She can recall the first time she heard it. Headmistress McGonagall let her and Hugo floo home for the weekend when their baby sister and brother were born. When they were sprawled out on the floor of her families home, there stood her mother and father, each cuddling a new, beautiful baby. She was more nervous that she had ever been. These were the new babies that could take over her place in her parents hearts. All she could feel was disgust and hatred until Ron held out the baby he was holding and offered it to her. Petrified, she gently placed her right hand under the baby's head, the left under the butt, and pulled it close. The moment she looked into Annabelle's blazing blue eyes, there was an instant connection. She could no longer feel hatred or disgust. The only thing she felt was love or adoration or even admiration. Rose began to cry and she looked down at her sister and said, "Annabelle, I'm your big sister, Rosie." Annabelle's eyes became quite large, then she let out a little coo and laughed hysterically. It wasn't like a taunting laugh as much as an, "I'm so glad I have you" comical laugh. From that point, their bond was untouchable.

When she snapped back to reality at the Burrow, she stopped the tickling and just held her baby sister while they watched the sun set over the small village. After about ten minutes of silence, Rose looked down at Annabelle and asked sweetly, "Did you actually want something when you came out here, Annie?"

"Oh no! Rosie! I forgot, mummy wanted you to head inside so they could finish your dress! Can I help?"

"Well, you'll have to ask. Right now, I need to go in and try to find my dress!"

* * *

Lucky for the happy couple, the only guests that were staying at the Burrow prior to the wedding were their parents, aunts and uncles, and close family friends. Sadly, Scorpius's mother, Hannah, had died a year ago in a train accident while in Madrid for the week with work, so Draco and Ileana arrived the night before the wedding for the rehearsal dinner. Ileana was smitten with the twins so she did her best to occupy the pair during the dinner.

The brides father was still not pleased that his little girl was to marry a Malfoy in the morning, but he knew that his soon to be son-in-law was much more a man than his father was during school. When Draco made his way to the Burrow that night, Ron gave his best smile, a happy hello, the sulked off in another direction, leaving it up to Rose to get father and daughter settled in in Percy's old room.

The rehearsal dinner went very well. For a family full of anti-Malfoy's, they were all quite well behaved for the sake of Rose and Scorpius, and even shocked by how much Draco had really changed. He had to have a change of heart, especially if he married a Muggle-born witch and then produced a squib daughter. He knew deep down how awful he once was, so when he fell in love with his wife, he did everything he could to protect her, and eventually he did the same for his daughter.

* * *

Hours after the dinner, Draco woke up parched and worried. He could overlook how dry the house was kept, but all of the magical things caused him to worry how Ileana would behave when she got back to their home, when it would be just them again. Then it occurred to him that soon, she would leave him too, then what would he have? His only son would be married to a Weasley and starting his own family with her, his only daughter would begin living her life in the Muggle world, and the only person to ever love him in return was gone. He was an aging widow with his own children leaving him. That was a thought that shook him to the core of his being.

When he couldn't stand the thought of just laying in that bed any longer, he grabbed his wand and walked down the stairs to the kitchen in hopes of getting a snack and some water. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Hermione's voice.

"Couldn't sleep either, Draco?" was all she said. He then found her figure curled up on the loveseat next to the fireplace with a glass of wine in one hand and a photo album in her lap with her free hand placed on the top corner in position to turn the page.

He just walked towards her, not moving at a pace faster than that of a snail. This hurt him. In the four times their families had gotten together since their children declared their love for one another, seeing Hermione always broke his heart all over again. His wife even knew it. He always went home a broken man, and each time, there was another piece missing from his heart.

Hermione moved her feet and made room for Draco to sit next to her on the couch. Knowing that this weekend would create the biggest heartbreak yet, he obliged and sat next to her. She was still was beautiful as the day they met, except much older and less emotion driven. He looked down to the photo album to see a happy, toothy Rose riding her very first bike. All he could imagine was her falling and losing those teeth that way. But she looked like she'd been doing it all of her life, almost like he was with flying. He loved how Hermione even made sure her children had the best Muggle experiences possible, just like Hannah had done for Ileana and Scorpius.

"It seems like just yesterday, Ronald and I bought her that bike. Now our little girl is getting married," Hermione choked out. The tears formed in her eyes and when Draco reached for her hand to comfort her, the tears free-fell. She still felt that connection. After thirty years, she still loved his touch. He hated seeing her cry, like she hated watching him cry in their sixth year.

"Hermione, the kids love each other. You're not losing her. You'll always have her, and now you have the twins to worry about. Rose will be doing things on her own, she won't need you as much anymore. Isn't that what every mother wants?"

Hermione just looked at him, her beautiful brown eyes pleading with him to stop. "I love my daughter. I don't want her to ever not need me." The silence was deafening after a short handful of seconds so Draco put his arm around her and let her sob into his chest. He knew how she felt. She pulled away lightly after a few minutes and looked into his steely blue eyes. "Draco, how can you not be more upset about this? It's only a matter of time before you're alone. Ileana is moving out soon. Scorpius is getting married, and you don't have your wife anymore. What are you going to do then?"

She was always right. He loved that about her. "You're right. I don't know what I'll do when they're gone. I've always dreaded being alone, but that's why I married, so I wouldn't have to be. I never expected to lose Hannah. I thought I'd have her forever. I cursed God the day he took her from me. I knew that loving her was far off, but when I fell, I fell hard. I thought I would never love someone other than you. But Hannah just had everything I needed. She was my rock. I will never love again, of that I'm sure. So, I'll live my life in solitude until it's my turn to face the Heaven or Hell I've subjected myself to."

Hermione cried harder now. "Draco," she said trying to get the words out, "I'm so sorry." She couldn't help but wrap her arms around him tighter at this point. She knew he was breaking and she needed to keep him together.

He pulled away, and pulled back hard. He jumped to his feet and began pacing. She could tell he was crying. The tears streaked his perfectly pale skin as he stared at her. "How could you say you didn't love me, Hermione? How could you ever do that to me?"

"Draco," she cried, "I can't explain it right. I loved you, but I also loved Ron. I knew having a future, a family with him would be so much simpler than with you. I could never betray Harry or Ron that way. I never meant to fall in love with you. I was upset about Ronald and Lavender, you were upset about everything your family was putting you through. We were weak! I thought I was just another slice of the week for you! I never thought you would actually fall in love with me, or that you were even capable of love at that point."

He stared at her in disbelief as his own heart stood there, millimeters away from shattering. "How can I believe that? I told you I loved you, Hermione! I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you! The war be damned! We could have run off together, never looked back! I would have done anything for you."

Hermione was so hysterical at this point, she was having trouble breathing. "Draco," she whispered, "I loved you."

"Then why did you tell me you didn't?" he said as he collapsed to the floor. "I could have lived knowing you loved me, but living knowing you never felt the same was a worse fate then death."

"I wish…I could take…it back. I should have told you…that I loved…you. But I wouldn't…change my life…now for anything…I have…the four best…kids in the…entire world…I'm so sorry…Draco." She slid her body off the couch and onto the floor where Draco put his arms around her as they laid their and cried in each others arms for their lost love, their kids, and everything in between until they fell asleep.

Hermione woke hours later, just as the sun was rising. She knew she had a million things to do that day and she had to get herself up, but lying in his arms was too comfortable. If Ronald or any of the other family had came downstairs, it would not be a very happy wedding day. She told him how she felt. That was good enough. Her relationship with Draco Malfoy would be left back in their sixth year of school and her life with Ronald would continue until the day they both died.

The daylight hours rushed past as the whole Weasley, Potter, Longbottom, and Malfoy family and friends began pouring in from all over the country and getting everything for the wedding set up.

The tent was arranged in the back yard, the families all seated appropriately and Scorpius, James, Twilight, and the Justice of the Peace all standing in the front by the makeshift altar. As the sun began to set over the small village, the wedding march began to play and Rose stepped into the remaining sunlight, dressed in all white. It was a stunning strapless gown with a corset style bodice, and a long, flowing skirt with ivory tulle. Ronald met her at the entrance to the tent and began to walk her down the aisle. Before she was halfway to Scorpius, majority of the guests and the wedding party were in tears. When they both finally said "I do," they were presented to their family and friends as "Mister and Missus Rose and Scorpius Malfoy," Draco was finally at ease with himself knowing that he and his one true love were someday to have the same grandchildren. He would now just refer to his love lost as a forbidden romance. And that everyone, was enough.

**The End.**

* * *

**REVIEWS PLEASE!! :] i know it's hard to believe that the Rose Scorpius romance is finally done, and now the secrets are out about Draco and Hermione. I hope to write a Draco Hermione one someday if I ever get enough time to myself! :] Thanks to all of my faithful readers who have been reading this from the start and for those who are new. **


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